This research was carried out to study agronomic and morphological fruit characteristics of eleven sweet pepper hybrids obtained under protected cultivation conditions. The trial was conducted from November/95 to July/96 in Campinas, São Paulo state, Brazil. The treatments consisted of eleven hybrids which were grouped according to fruit colour, as red (Luis, Fresco, Juncal and XPH-14187), yellow (Indalo and Rupia), orange (Mandarin and Orange Wonder), purple (Cardinal and Lilac) and ivory hybrid (Ivory) groups. The following characteristics were evaluated: plant yield during one hundred days of harvest, and weight, length, width and pulp thickness of the first five marketable fruits per plant. Fresco and Luis hybrids produced the greatest yield whereas Lilac and Orange Wonder hybrids produced the lowest yield. All other hybrids displayed an intermediate performance. The greatest pulp thickness was observed in Ivory, Orange Wonder and Rupia hybrids, which differed significantly from Juncal, Luis and Cardinal hybrids. Fresco and Rupia hybrids showed the best performance in the red and yellow fruit groups, respectively.
Capsicum annuum; yield; plasticulture
